Precious Cargo
by alphakkc
Summary: Two different races of aliens have landed on earth. One bent of destruction while the other is searching for salvation. Problem is the two are bitter enemies and earth holds something that is precious for both alien races. Battle is imminent as the two forces clash. Question is what will become of earth? Can XCOM, the newly formed covert paramilitary organization save the day?
1. Chapter 1

**Precious Cargo**

**Chapter 1**

Inside a make shift home lab that was previously a cellar, a lone female figure was seen working. She was surrounded by plants of all kinds. On the tables beakers and lab utensils were strewn all over. The female figure is looking through a microscope, deeply engrossed in her work.

'C'mon. C'mon,' she said quietly to herself, eyes scanning the magnified image through the scope. 'Yes!' she let out a triumphant cry and a wide smile formed on her lips. She stepped back from the scope and took a couple of steps backwards. She allowed her slender figure to slump onto an old sofa that she knew was just behind her. Her long dark brunette hair settled into a messy heap on the head rest. She looked up at the old dirty ceiling of the dimly lit basement that she was in, unable to stop from smiling. Her green eyes sparkled with delight before she closed them and heaved a long, deep breath.

She had succeeded. The formula worked. Her hard work had paid off. She pumped both of her hands into the air and let out another victorious cry of 'Yes!'.

After a couple of minutes of idleness, she picked herself up from the sofa and headed to her desk. She flipped on her tablet and set it onto the docking station. She started to type rapidly. She needs to document down her steps before she forgot. As she was typing, a red icon flashed on her tablet and an urgent beep was heard. It was a danger alert.

'What the..?' she uttered, puzzled.

Quickly she hit the icon and another app appeared on the screen. Her eyes widened in horror when she saw what was displayed. Her sensors had detected an unknown spaceship entering the earth's atmosphere almost directly above the house she was in. She jumped up from her desk, grabbed her binoculars and ran up the stairs.

She bolted out from the cellar into the backyard and her eyes frantically searched the clear night sky. Nothing can be seen with the naked eye.

She raised her binoculars and scanned the sky with it. Inside the binoculars, the HUD signalled where the craft was. She quickly centred the scope on it and pressed a button to magnify the view.

Her eyes widened in horror as she recognized the craft now shown on the magnified view.

'Ethereals!' she muttered to herself. 'How did they find this planet?' she voiced the question in her head. Just as she was about to lower the binoculars she saw a bay door on the UFO opening. As she watched what emerged from it, she gasped.

'An anti-matter missile? It's not possible!' she screamed as she watched the missile being fired and raced directly towards her.

'No! No! No!' she cried as she lowered the binoculars. She could see the bright streak of the oncoming missile with her bare eyes now. Tears streamed down her cheeks. Her knees crumbled and hit the ground. She had to brace the ground with her hands to keep herself from falling flat onto the soil.

'I was so close! So close!' she screamed at the ground, tears dropping uncontrollably.

Then the explosion hit. A bright flash of light shot past before the sonic wave hit and all around her turned to hell. She was flung into the air. She shielded her eyes with her right hand and screamed as she was tossed through the air like a rag doll. Then she felt the searing heat from the explosion and she fell. Just as she was about to lose all senses the whole thing went quiet and the air became still.

She quickly opened her eyes and saw her room ceiling staring back at her. Her eyes darted left and right. It was her room. No doubt about it. She noticed her breath came in short gasps. She took a second before realizing that it was all a nightmare. With her breathing still ragged, she ran a hand over her face, wiping beads of sweat off it.

Having slowed her breathing, she sat up on the bed and took another look around. Her room was quiet and peaceful. She leapt off the bed and ran to her desk across from the foot of her bed. She quickly picked up her tablet and turned it on. Her usual tablet wallpaper greeted her. She scanned the device for any alert icons. There were none.

Heaving a sigh of relief, she pulled out her chair and slowly sat down. She replaced her tablet onto the desk and turned off the display as she sank onto the desk, resting her head on her hands.

'It's only a nightmare, Tia,' she consoled herself quietly. 'Only a nightmare...' and she sobbed quietly for a few minutes.

Tia then sat up straight and flicked on the table lamp on her desk. The light fell on the numerous pieces of paper scattered on top of the wooden desk. Tia sighed. She slowly collected the papers and returned them to their files. It was her work and it was unfinished. In her dreams, she had always finished the task. She had always found the solution but that was in her dreams. In reality, she had gotten close. So many times she thought she had succeeded but the final piece of the puzzle still eluded her.

She sighed. 'Patience Tia,' she said quietly to herself as she organized her desk slowly. 'You will find the solution. It's just a matter of time,' Tia went on as she picked up the pens and pencils, returning them to the holder. Her hand brushed onto the clock that was lying face down. She picked it up and it said the time was 5:53 AM. The sun will be rising soon.

Putting the clock back to its rightful place on the desk, Tia got up and walked towards the window. She spread the curtains apart and a beautiful country side landscape greeted her. The skies were just starting to brighten. Streaks of orange were leaking out from the horizon, slowly turning the dark skies to a shade of deep blue.

Tia looked towards the woods some distance away from her country side house. She smiled. The forest of earth reminded her so much of the forests back on her home planet Skooria, half a galaxy away. Skooria was a planet with lush forests but that was before the great war with the Ethereals started. The war lasted a better part of a decade when the Skoorians finally won. The price of victory however was very high. Apart from the death of countless soldiers and civilians, Skooria had become a barren planet. Her lush forests were completely decimated. That was because the Skoorians unleashed their most powerful weapon, the anti-matter bomb. It wiped out Ethereal's invasion force but it also wiped out most of the plant life on Skooria. Only tuffs of rough grass could grow. There were no more trees. Skooria had become something of a savannah planet. It was no longer an ideal place to inhabit. Most of the Skoorians have left the planet and ventured to other parts of the galaxy.

Tia or T'aala, had vowed to restore Skooria to its former glory. She had scoured the planetary systems to find a suitable planet that had forests that are similar to those of Skooria and she had found earth. The earth trees are a little different from those found on Skooria but their DNA is compatible. Tia had settled on earth and started her research to modify the plants on earth to suit the conditions on Skooria. That was decades ago. She had come a long way and her research was almost complete. Tia knew that she could crack the code. Then she can bring the newly genetically modified plants back to Skooria and they can start the process to re-populate Skooria with plant life.

The sky was brightening. Tia inhaled deeply as she watched the sun rising. Earth was a beautiful planet. In some ways Tia found that earth to be more beautiful than Skooria. 'If you can't crack the code, you can always stay here for the rest of your life,' she mused to herself. She then shook her head as if to shake the crazy thought out of her mind.

She headed for the bathroom for a shower. Although Tia was hundreds of earth years old, under the Skoorian aging scale, Tia was still a young adult not much different than humans in their mid-twenties. Her body reflected it. She had a curvaceous body of a fit female human and can be considered to be well endowed when it comes to the mammary glands or boobs, as the humans had taken to calling them.

Skoorians were not too far apart anatomically from humans and having some shape shifting abilities, Tia could easily blend in with the humans and raised no suspicions whatsoever.

After undressing, she turned on the shower and stepped in. Tia liked the feel of water running over her and she took her time. She knew she had another long day of research ahead of her but she was in no hurry. Little did she know that as she enjoyed her shower, a small scouting UFO had entered the earth's atmosphere on the other side of the globe. It was an Ethereal craft.


	2. Chapter 2

Precious Cargo

**Author's note :** As usual. I don't own XCOM or anything related to the XCOM's world. Copyright belongs to whoever it rightfully belongs to. This is just a fan fiction and I don't claim copyright apart from the characters I created for the story. Enjoy!

**Chapter 2**

**3 years later.**

Kim Sun Hoo glanced at his watch. 12.02 PM. His contact was late. Kim reached for his ice blended coffee and took a sip. He winced at the overly sweetened drink and set it down again wondering why his contact had to choose this kind of coffee place in all of Seoul. He then glanced out the window to his right and watched the busy city pulse outside the shop.

'I see you're still as punctual as ever,' a familiar voice called out, bringing Kim's attention back. He turned to his left and saw an older gentleman standing next to his table. Kim recognized the man immediately.

Rising from his seat, Kim gave the elder gentleman a slight bow and motioned to the chair across from his. 'Colonel Bae,' he greeted with a smile. 'Please have a seat.'

'Just Mr. Bae will do,' the older gentleman replied with a smile and took the indicated seat. He put a large brown envelope onto the table and settled in as Kim seated himself again. 'After all, I am already retired, Major Kim,' Bae continued.

'As am I, Col… I mean Mr. Bae,' Kim said.

'Yes. Old habits die hard, don't they?' Bae said keeping the banter light.

'So Mr. Bae, what brings you out here this fine day?' Kim asked, his face serious.

Bae sat silent for a moment, eyeing the 40 plus year old man sitting across from him. Bae could see that he was still as sharp as ever. Bae then pushed the envelope over to the younger man.

'I have a position open that I think you can fill quite well,' Bae said. 'Why don't you take a look?' he continued.

Kim took the envelope and opened it. He pulled out a file folder and started reading. After the first paragraph he glanced back up at Bae.

'Is this a joke?' Kim asked, unable to take what he had read at face value.

'I am afraid it is not. As much as I wish it was but it is fact unfortunately,' Bae replied.

Kim could not detect any deception is Bae's voice nor his body language and he went back to the document and continued reading.

'How long has this been going on?' Kim asked as he read on, concern evident in his voice.

'The first confirmed incident was a couple of years back,' Bae replied. 'We suspect that they have already been here for some time before that incident. However of late, the number of incidents have been on the rise. We fear it is a prelude to something big.'

'We?' Kim asked, his eyes meeting Bae's again. 'Who are we?'

'XCOM,' Bae said. 'That's all I am allowed to say in the open. If you are interested, I can send the data to you via a secured channel.'

'And if I decline?' Kim asked as he closed the file and set it back on the table.

'Then I would have to erase your memory and this meeting would not have occurred,' Bae replied.

'What if I don't like people messing with my memory?'

'Then we have no choice but to keep the lid on this info using whatever means possible. People die all the time, Mr. Kim. From accidents.'

'Well then, it seems that the decision has already been made for me,' Kim said. 'I'm in.'

'Good to know,' Bae said and pulled out a smartphone from his pocket. He handed the phone over to Kim. 'We will be in touch and you did not hear this from me,' he finished and left the table.

Kim picked up the phone and turned it over in his hands a couple of times. 'Aliens on earth?' Kim thought to himself. Never in his wildest dream could he have anticipated that he would come across such an event in his lifetime. He pocketed the phone, picked up the folder plus envelope and left the coffee shop.

**A couple of weeks later, halfway across the globe from Seoul:**

Tia flicked on the TV in her kitchen and settled down on the table to eat her dinner. She looked down at the microwaved macaroni and cheese. 'Yummy,' she said quietly and sighed with resignation. Her obsession with her work meant no time for cooking.

She tucked her spoon in and focussed her attention onto the TV screen so she would not be wholly aware of the taste, or what's lacking, of her dinner. A variety show called "Fact or Fiction" was on. It was where the producers showed various video clips that are mostly home and amateur videos and let the audience decide whether what they saw was fact or fiction.

Tia decided to watch the show as she ate as it was a pretty good distraction.

'So are UFOs and aliens real?' the host of the show asked. 'We have a clip here that shows a flying saucer zipping across the sky over South Korea. The clip has been examined by experts and they could not find any trace of manipulation. So it this fact or fiction? You decide after the break!'

Tia smiled. 'This should be interesting,' she thought to herself. Since she was a bona fide extra-terrestrial, she knows that other life forms exist beyond earth but the humans are so primitive in comparison that they could hardly detect their presence. Heck, she has been on earth for decades without anyone being the wiser.

'You humans are lucky that I mean you guys no harm,' she thought and continued watching the show. When the clip was finally shown, Tia's spoon dropped from her hand in shock. It fell onto the table, bounced and clattered onto the floor. Tia's jaw also dropped.

The footage shown was blurry and of low quality but Tia could recognize the UFO in it. How could she not. When her home planet was invaded, she had seen so many of them. It was clearly an Ethereal scouting ship.

'No!' Tia voiced her thoughts.

'It can't be! Not them! Please don't let this be true!'

Tia ran from the kitchen and dashed outside. She opened her cellar door and rushed inside. Heading straight for the sofa, she shoved it aside, knelt down and searched for a button on the floor that she had long left unused.

After a few seconds, she found it and pressed down on it. A secret trap door opened with a hiss. Lights came on and there were metallic stairs leading downwards. Tia ran down the stairs for about 10 meters and reached another door. She punched the button and the door to her space ship hidden underneath her house opened.

She rushed to the communications console in the communications room and her hands flew over the control panel. A holographic display came up and she searched for the answer to her question as she established a connection to her home planet's database.

**A few minutes later, in XCOM's base somewhere in a remote region of South Korea:**

'Sir!' a console operator called out. 'We have just detected an interstellar comm signal link!'

Major Kim, the commander of the Northern Asia division of XCOM, got up from his desk on the viewing platform. He walked to the edge of the platform, looking at the large holographic display of the globe in the middle of the room.

'Where is the source?' Kim asked.

'In the United States, sir!' the operator replied.

That statement caused a frown to form on Kim's forehead. Usually the signals they detected were in the Asian continent.

'Put it on the Geoscape,' Kim ordered and a yellow icon appeared on the holographic display.

'Sir?' the operator called out again.

'What is it?' Kim asked.

'This signal's pattern does not match the others that we have intercepted so far,' the operator explained.

'What do you mean?'

'It's a completely different pattern. Unlike anything we have seen previously.'

'Are you sure that the signal is extra-terrestrial?'

'Double checking sir!' the operator said and after a brief pause he continued, 'Confirmed that it's an interstellar link, sir and I don't think that the sender are the X-Rays that we are familiar with, sir!'

'Another kind of triple I?' Kim mused using the abbreviation for Illegal Interstellar Immigrant that the XCOM personnel sometimes used to refer to aliens.

'Looks like it sir! The pattern is completely different.'

'Can you narrow down the location of the signal source?' Kim asked.

'Already on it, sir!'

'Good! Get me the results ASAP!' Kim ordered. 'Get strike team Alpha ready to go now!'

'Yes, sir!' another operator replied. 'Big Sky is prepped and ready to launch, sir!'

'I will be joining strike team Alpha,' Kim announced as he walked towards the exit from the Mission Control room. 'Captain Park, you have mission control,' Kim continued.

'Yes, sir!' replied Capt. Park.

**Back at Tia's cellar / spaceship:**

Tia searched furiously through the military database logs on her console. She had not been checking them of late partly because the results were always the same. Negative contacts. For about 2 decades. One can really get bored with that. Now she had been looking through the backlogs for a couple of hours.

'Wars were lost because of negligence like this, Tia!' she berated herself as she scrolled through log after log. Then she found it. One entry, 3 years ago:

_Positive Ethereal ship contact in the Sol system._

_Type : Scout ship_

_No. of crafts : 1_

_Threat : Low_

_Action : K IV_

'Dammit!' Tia shouted. She turned to her left and quickly punched some keys. The display switched to that of another Skoorian.

'Commander H'thet,' Tia said.

'Who? Oh.. it's you T'aala,' the Skoorian in the display took a moment to realize who he was talking to.

'The Ethereals are here on Earth!' Tia started.

'Yes. We know,' the commander replied, face nonchalant.

'What? You knew?'

'Yes. And good to know you are all right. Haven't heard from you in a while.'

'So what are we going to do about it?' Tia queried anxiously.

'At the moment, nothing,' came the reply.

'What?'

'We have more pressing matters in the sigma quadrant. If you're not too tied up, perhaps you can keep an eye on them and report their activity.'

'Huh? Look I am doing important research here! This concerns the future of Skooria! I am about to have a breakthrough and..' Tia was cut off.

'And where is that breakthrough that you keep harping about?' the commander retorted. 'We have been hearing about this near breakthrough of yours for years now but I still haven't seen any concrete results.' Tia winced at that statement. It was true. She had been a little too overeager to report her findings and many a times things did not pan out like she thought it would.

'But I'm so close! Can't you send a squad here? For my protection? For the future of Skooria?' Tia pleaded. 'I can't deal with them alone!'

'For what it's worth, T'aala, you are not the only scientist doing this kind of research out there. We have scientists scattered across various systems. We can't just sent troops away on your whims and fancies. Unless you have proof of real threat to our race, I suggest that you sit tight and keep out of sight. You could always bail out and I doubt the Ethereals will want to pursue a single civilian craft.'

'But Commander,' Tia protested.

'That will be all,' the commanded said and the transmission ceased.

'Dammit!' Tia cursed again and slammed her fists onto the console. There was nothing more she could do about the Ethereals. So far they had not really done anything major. So far to her knowledge that is. And they do not know of her presence. Perhaps if she stayed hidden, they will leave. Perhaps this is just a scouting mission and nothing more, Tia reasoned with herself.

Just as she was about to leave the craft, the siren sounded and red flashing light filled the craft's interior.

'What the fuck?' Tia uttered in shock. She quickly turned on the display again and switched to the security monitoring system.

_**Hull breach. **_

The words flashed on the display. A flashing red icon showed on the schematics of her craft showed where the breach was.

'Shit!' Tia said near panic.

_**Moving targets detected inside ship.**_

The new words flashed onto the display. Tia looked wide eyed and saw 6 dots moving in through the breach.

'It's not possible! The Ethereals could not have found me so quickly!' she thought as she reached for the gun compartment and withdrew her pistol.

'Initiate target species identification!' she shouted to the computer.

'Running,' replied a robotic voice.

'Targets are humans,' the results came back.

Tia heaved a sigh of relief. So it wasn't the Ethereals. That was a little comforting but the question now was how the heck did the humans find her? Tia pushed the question to the back of her mind as she switched off the display console and the lights and all alarms. She then ran behind a large console opposite the door to the room in her craft. She set her pistol to stun and took aim. Her heart racing.

**Outside Tia's room inside the craft:**

The strike team moved into position and took cover facing the closed door.

'How many contacts?' Major Kim asked.

'Just one detected, sir!' came the reply. 'We've secured the other parts of the ship. No other contact found.'

Major Kim readied his plasma rifle and signalled to his team member to open the door.

The other operative nodded and attached a device to the door's key panel. A flashing orange light appeared.

'This may take a while, sir!' the operative's voice was heard through Kim's headphone.

'Roger that,' Kim replied. 'Everyone stay alert!' he continued as he looked around the craft. It was unlike any pictures of the UFOs that they had in the XCOM's database. 'Perhaps the operator that picked up the signal was right. This is a different kind of alien. A different kind of UFO. A different race, maybe,' Kim thought to himself.

The minutes went by as the device worked to get the door opened. Each one that passed seemed like an eternity as the tension mounted.

'What's the hold up?' Kim asked.

'Sorry sir! But the algorithm of this lock is way different than those that we have on record,' came the reply.

Suddenly the light on the device turned to a steady green.

'Got it, sir!'

Kim tightened the grip on his gun. His eyes met those of the operative working on the lock. He nodded. The operative nodded in reply and hit the button on his device.

The door whooshed open and darkness greeted them from inside the room. All of them paused as they tried to see into the room.

'Switch to thermals,' Kim ordered and pulled his googles on and switched it to thermals. Still he could see nothing.

'Duke!' Kim called to one of his operative taking cover to the right of the now opened door. 'Move in and report!'

'Yes, sir!' came Duke's reply as he quickly peered into the room and made a dash inside.

Two yellow bolts shot out from the room in quick succession.

'Contact! Taking fir…. Arghh!' Duke's voice came over the radio and Kim saw the soldier take a hit square on his chest and crumpled to the floor. He quickly turned his eyes towards where the bolts came from and saw a figure ducking behind cover. Having gotten a fix on the enemy's location, Kim jumped into action.

'Covering fire! I'm going in!' Kim ordered as he dashed inside the room. Bolts of green plasma rifle fire shot past him giving him some cover. Kim made a beeline towards the console he saw the target hiding behind. He crouched behind the console and readied his rifle.

'Cease cover fire!' he ordered and as soon as the plasma bolts stopped Kim stepped out and turned his gun onto the target cowering behind the console.

'No! Stop! Don't shoot!' A female voice called out in plain English.

Kim was taken aback by the words. He paused his trigger finger and took a closer look at his target. Kim could not believe his eyes. He saw a woman with raised hands. Her hands were empty. Kim quickly searched the floor around the target. The weapon was nowhere near.

'Please! Don't shoot! I am unarmed!' the woman pleaded.

Kim could see that she was shaking.

'On the floor! Now! Face down! Keep your hands above your head and where I can see them!' Kim shouted. The woman complied and slowly sank face down onto the floor and put her hands above her head on the floor.

'Okay! Okay! Just don't shoot!' the woman went on in a panicky voice.

Seeing that the threat had passed, Kim turned his attention to his fallen comrade. 'Medic! Check on Duke! Bullseye, you secure the prisoner!'

Two operatives dashed into the room. One quickly tended to Duke while the other ran up to Kim and quickly put cuffs onto the woman on the floor.

'How's Duke?' Kim asked walking towards the medic.

'He's alive, sir!' the medic replied. 'Just out cold. No visible injuries!'

Kim was puzzled. 'Good!' he said. 'Let's pack it up and go home,' he said and walked out the door.

'Well, I'll be!' Bullseye exclaimed as he pulled the woman from the floor after he handcuffed her. 'This is the last place on earth I'd be looking for beautiful girls! What's your name, sugar?' he teased.

Tia gave him a venomous glare but said nothing. Bullseye led her out.

'A woman? You have got to be kidding me!' came another voice as Tia was led out.

'These missions are getting stranger by the day!'

'Cut the chatter and secure the prisoner!' Kim ordered. 'Let's go home,' he said and led the way back to the Skyranger.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note:** Sorry for the delay. Here's the next chapter.

**Chapter 3**

'Sir!' Capt. Park said, breaking Kim's attention on the report he was reading. Kim looked up at his second in command.

'The council is requesting your presence in the Situation Room, sir,' Park announced.

Kim sighed. He had been anticipating this meeting. He nodded at Park and got up from his desk. Since they came back from the mission about 8 hours ago, they had more questions than answers. The report he was reading was the initial debriefing assessment on that very mission. Kim took his time going to the situation room, trying to figure out what he wanted to say to the council.

When Kim took his seat in the situation room, the display on the screen was already showing the familiar silhouette of the bald headed spokesperson for the council of XCOM.

'Commander Kim. Nice to see you again,' the spokesperson greeted.

'To what do I owe the pleasure of your audience?' Kim asked starting the meeting in earnest. He had little time for pleasantries.

'The council was made aware that you have authorized a mission into the United States. The US representative is less than happy that it happened. As you are aware, Commander Kim, you are in charge of operations for the Northern Asian region.'

'I am under the impression that the security of the Earth overrides any formal boundaries,' Kim argued. 'Since I have identified the threat and have the resources to act, I took the initiative.'

'No one in the council is questioning your initiative, Commander. However, there is the matter of jurisdiction. However, the council have decided to overlook this incident. Please ensure that it will not happen again.'

'I will not,' Kim said.

'Very well. Now that the matter has been settled, the council is also aware that on your last mission you have made contact with another race of aliens that has never been encountered by XCOM before, is that correct, Commander Kim?' the spokesperson asked.

'That is correct,' Kim replied and fidgeted a little in his seat as the discussion entered the main point.

'Since we are now facing another alien race, it is imperative that any artefacts that you have recovered on the mission be studied by the best that XCOM has to expedite research on how best to counter this new threat. Dr. Vahlen, head of the XCOM scientific research arm has requested that all existing artefacts be transferred to XCOM's world headquarters so that research can begin as soon as possible.'

'I will have them shipped over to HQ as soon as they are packed,' Kim said.

'That won't be necessary, Commander,' the spokesperson said to Kim's surprise. 'HQ has sent two transports over to your base to collect the necessary. You will just need to assist in the operations. The transports are already on the way. ETA is six hours.'

'I understand,' Kim replied, his mind racing. Six hours does not leave much time for him to get all the data he needed before they are shipped out. 'If there is nothing else, I'll go back..' Kim said attempting to end the conversation.

'There is one more thing Commander,' the spokesperson said and Kim held his breath. 'The council is surprised that your team has failed to neither apprehend nor eliminate any aliens on this mission. It will not reflect well on your performance if this kind of failure is repeated.'

'I understand. It will not happen again,' Kim said bowing his head a little to show that he is apologetic. He is relieved that his one omission on his report was not discovered.

'That will be all, Commander,' the spokesperson said at last. Kim kept his head bowed until the display has turned to black, signifying that the link has been disconnected. He then let go of his breath. He quickly got up from his seat and walked out of the room. He had plenty to do before the transports arrive.

Tia paced back and forth in the room. It has been at least a few hours since the armed men had taken her custody. She was puzzled. They had brought her to this unknown place and put her into the room. It was evidently not a prison or holding cell. In fact it looked more like a dorm room. There was a bed. A closet, built into the wall and quite small but a closet none the less. A small desk with drawers that was spartan and empty. To one side the room opens up into a small bathroom with a toilet and shower. It was definitely not a prison cell.

Tia had tried the door and it was locked. She expected no less. Her captors were humans. She was sure of that.

'At least you're still alive,' Tia thought, attempting to calm herself down as much as possible. The fact that her captors are not really doing anything to her made her just as nervous as having captors with very obvious ill intent.

She then heard footsteps approaching her door. Tia backed away from the door as far as she could until her back hit the wall. She then heard the sound of the locked being worked at and the door swung wide open.

Standing in the doorway was the man that had pointed the gun at her. She could recognize him. She stood there frozen to her spot, her eyes fixed onto those of her captor. The man stopped at the doorway and regarded her for a moment. He then took a step into the room and closed the door behind him. Tia shrunk further away until she was backed into the corner furthest away from him.

She heard a low but audible sigh as the man looked around and then headed towards the desk which was now on the opposite side from Tia. He pulled the chair out and sat down facing Tia. Between him and Tia was the bed.

He motioned to the bed.

'Sit down,' he said in a calm voice.

Tia made no movement to sit.

The man then turned on and tossed a tablet he had with him onto the middle of the bed. He motioned to the tablet signalling for Tia to pick it up.

'Do you recognize any of the entities in there?' he asked simply.

Tia took her eyes off the man for a second and glanced at the tablet. She then glanced back at the man. He was leaning back into his chair and pulling out a packet of cigarettes from his pockets. He proceeded to light the cigarette and took a long pull.

Tia's eyes went back to the tablet on the bed. The image displayed seemed familiar but it was too far away for her to really make out what it was.

'Well?' the man asked. 'Have you seen them before?'

Tia moved closer to the bed. Her eyes locked onto the man, fearing that he might pounce on her at any moment. The man was still leaned back and he slowly crossed his legs and rested his hands on his knees. He wasn't about to pounce.

Tia reached out for the tablet, stretching her hands out as far as they can reach, not wanting to risk getting any closer to the man than she had to. Her fingertips touched the tablet and she dragged it closer to her with her outstretched finger.

When she got the tablet she withdrew back to her corner. The man still did not give any signs that he was leaving his seat. Tia glanced at the tablet and let out a small gasp. It was the picture of a Sectiod. Dead on an operating table. She then swiped her fingers to scroll through the rest of the pictures. There were pictures of a Muton, Thin Men and Floaters. All dead. Her eyes widened in surprise.

'I take it that you have seen them before,' the man said after seeing her reaction.

'Yes,' Tia replied, her eyes returning to the man seated across from her.

'Are you with them?'

'No!' the statement came out a little too forcefully. Tia stopped herself short.

'I guessed as much,' the man said as he turned around and searched for something on the desk. It was empty. He then looked underneath and drew out the waste paper basket and proceeded to flick his cigarette over it, letting the ash drop into the bin.

'If you are not with them then who or what are you?' he asked.

Tia did not know how to answer the question so she remained silent.

'I know that you're not of this world. We already have in our possession your spacecraft, your weapon and your computers,' the man went on, his voice still calm. 'What we would like to know is that what are you and what you are doing on earth?'

'I am merely here for some research,' Tia started, honestly didn't know where to begin or even how to explain.

'And you're interested in our plants?' he asked.

Tia pursed her lips. This human seemed to know a lot already. She was not used to being the one that is in the dark.

'Yes,' Tia replied simply.

'Well, at least we know why you're here,' he said. 'Unlike the others,' he continued, motioning to the tablet, referring to the pictures shown there. 'We do not know why they are here. They've abducted some of us. Appearing every now and then, seemingly at random locations. We really do not know what they are up to.'

'Up to no good,' Tia whispered to herself mostly.

'What was that?' the man asked, tilting his head and turning one of his ears slightly more towards her.

Tia winced. She had to stop thinking out loud. It was becoming a bad habit.

'How is it that two completely different alien races can end up on earth and already have prior contact with each other?' the man asked. Tia's mind raced. This human was sharp. 'Judging by your reaction, I take that you are not on friendly terms with them?'

'No,' Tia replied.

'And going by your research notes, you've been here way longer than they have but you've kept yourself well hidden, until now. Of course, we weren't actively looking for extra-terrestrial life forms before this. At least, not looking within our own backyard, that is.'

Tia blinked, completely taken by surprise. How could he have known all these facts in the short time that they have taken her? She had really underestimated the capabilities of the humans. Then she remembered that a big part of her notes were in English. She had done that to be able to learn the language and blend in better. She grimaced. Another stupid mistake.

'We have an old saying here on earth that goes 'The enemy of my enemy is my friend.',' the man said. 'Since you are not on friendly terms with the others, can I consider you as friend?'

Tia simply did not know how to reply that. Her mind worked furiously for an answer. If she did this wrong, she could very well end up on the operating table like those she had seen in the pictures.

'I can say that we are not a threat to humanity,' Tia said. 'We mean the earth and its inhabitants no harm. I cannot say the same for the Ethereals, but we certainly harbour no ill will against the planet earth.'

'The Ethereals?' the man asked. 'Is that what you call them?'

'Yes. Specifically the four armed ones,' Tia replied.

'Four armed ones?' the man asked, his tone genuinely puzzled.

'Yes. The Ethereals. They are the leaders. They are not in the pictures you showed me but they are the leaders. Those that you have pictures of are more like their foot soldiers,' Tia explained.

'So what do you call yourselves?'

'We are Skoorians,' Tia said before she could stop herself. She winced again. She needed to be more careful with this man. He clearly knew how to get information.

'Right,' he said. 'And are there any more Skoorians on earth?'

Tia pondered how to answer that question for a while. Should she be honest and tell him she's alone here or should she lie and say there were others and bargain for her release? She decided to come clean.

'I am alone here,' Tia said and noticed that the man nodded slightly at her answer. She hoped that she had made the right decision.

'If you are alone here, are there any Skoorians nearby? Maybe within the Solar System?' the questioning continued.

'No,' Tia said.

'Then who were you contacting before we took you in?'

Tia stared at the man wide eyed. The humans sure had a lot of information. Tia knew she would not be able to lie her way out of this.

'I.. I was contacting my fleet. They are.. far away. I am the only one here. On this system, I mean. I was merely reporting the presence of the Ethereals to them,' Tia said.

'What are the Ethereals to you?'

'They are our enemies,' Tia said. 'We were or should I say that are at war with them. They have attempted to invade our home planet but we drove them off..,' he voiced trailed away.

The man seemed to ponder on what she had said for a moment.

'For what it's worth, I believe you,' he said finally. 'However, my… compatriots may not see eye to eye with me. So far, they do not yet know that you are captive here. They think that you are still at large out there. I think that you may be of assistance to us. You can provide information for us regarding the Ethereals. In return for your assistance, maybe I can secure your freedom.'

Tia's eyes lit up on the last statement. Before she can say anything else, the man started again.

'Right now, we have a lot to do,' he said. 'You may stay in this room. Let me know what you need and I will see to it that you have it, within reason. My… headquarters is sending a transport to take your ship and all that we have recovered away from here. I cannot hold them here but I believe that your data may be of immense help to us,' he said, getting up from the chair and walking to the door.

'I am just a researcher. I am not a soldier nor from the military,' Tia said. 'I do not have any detailed info on the Ethereals.'

The man was opening the door and then stopped short of pushing it wide open. He turned to Tia and looked right at her. It was clear that he was trying to make a decision and Tia was sure that the decision will have a large effect on her.

'I.. I can tell you what I know about them and help you however I can. We have a common enemy, so it makes sense to co-operate, right?' Tia blurted.

'I can live with that,' he said. Tia sighed with relief. 'Ok. Stay here for now. I need to attend to the transport first before I can come back to you,' he continued.

'How can I contact you?' Tia asked.

'You can use the tablet,' he said. 'You can send me messages using the mail application in there.'

'But which one is you?' Tia asked.

'My name is Kim Sun Hoo,' he said and stepped out. He closed the door after him.

Tia quickly took a few steps towards the door and tried the lock. The door didn't budge. She expected no less. She sighed.

'At least you're still alive,' Tia said to herself again as she backed slowly to the bed and slowly sat down on it. She could feel her tension easing after the talk with Kim. She set the tablet Kim had left her down beside her on the bed and let herself fall back onto it.


	4. Chapter 4

Precious Cargo

**Chapter 4**

'These are what we call Mutons,' Tia explained as the picture was brought up on Kim's computer screen. She was seated beside him in his room. They had been here for the last hour and a half going through pictures and with Kim asking seemingly endless questions.

'The Mutons form the bulk of their army,' Tia continued. 'They are hardy but not too bright. Then again the Ethereals have so many of them so they just throw the Mutons endlessly at you.'

'They are clones,' Kim said.

'Really? I suspected as much but never really bothered to find out,' Tia said nonchalantly as she rested her head on the table on top of her crossed arms, eyes away from Kim.

Kim looked at the back of her head. She was clearly not military. No trained soldier would turn their backs on their captors and here she was sitting in a chair next to him and resting her head on the table not even bothering to look at Kim.

'How is it that you can look so much like a human?' Kim asked the question that suddenly popped into his head.

'Oh, that?' Tia said as she slowly sat up and turn toward Kim. 'We Skoorians have some shape shifting ability. Of course, anatomically we are not so different from you. We have more in common than you'd think. I mean we have four limbs that match your arms and legs and serve the same purpose. Only thing is that we don't have heads full of hair that are like yours and our mammary glands,' Tia said as she cupped her hands onto her breasts and lifted them up a little. 'Are not quite like what human females have.'

Kim tried to avert his eyes from Tia's breasts as he listened to her explanation. Tia saw the uncomfortable look in his eyes as he glanced back to his computer screen.

'I have been told that my form is quite appealing to the male humans,' Tia said. 'Do you find me appealing?'

'What?' Kim almost choked by the abrupt question. 'Well, yes. You look beautiful. I mean that if a woman has looks like yours, she would be considered very appealing.'

'I had always been curious about what human males find attractive in the female human form,' Tia said her eyes lighting up. 'What do you find attractive in my form?' she asked smiling at Kim.

Kim leaned further away from Tia as he tried to push himself as far away from her as he could without seeming to be rude, trying to put more space between them to mask the discomfort that he felt.

'I do not think that we should pursue this topic,' he said slowly, trying to think of a way to change the subject.

'Oh, come on,' Tia urged, still smiling at him. She had completely dropped her guard as she got comfortable with Kim during their short time together. 'Just a little bit of information exchange. I've told you about the Ethereals and myself so can't you tell me a little bit about humans?'

'Well.. you have a really nice smile,' Kim started, a bit surprised as to why he was behaving in such a way. Perhaps the Skoorian was not as harmless as she seemed. What other ability did she have?

Tia's smile widened at Kim's remark. 'Really? What else do you like?' she said leaning closer to Kim.

'Erm.. we do like the shape of your body. It's very appealing to human males,' Kim continued.

'Oh? What is it that you like about the shape?' Tia asked curiously. 'I mean I emulated the average human female form in their twenties that appears on your TV and I don't really know if I got the details right, I mean I have been here quite some time but I have never really have much physical contact with humans,' Tia said clearly getting quite excited about the subject. She suddenly grabbed Kim's hands and placed them on her breasts. 'Like the mammary glands or breasts as you humans call them. Do they feel right?' Tia asked genuinely curious.

Kim froze. He had not expected Tia to do what she did. Now he did not know how to react. He could feel her supple breasts beneath her clothing and he could tell that she was not wearing any bra. For a moment, Kim was at a loss at what to do next.

'Well, go on,' Tia encouraged him. 'Touch them and see if they feel right. I know that breasts are mostly fat tissues but I am not really sure if I got the texture right. I mean they jiggle when I walk as how they show them on your TV but do they feel real to you?'

As his mind raced to find an appropriate answer and reaction, Kim felt sexually aroused by having his hands on Tia's breasts. Although he knew that she was an alien he could not keep his thoughts from veering towards the sexual side. He then realized that he was staring at her breasts.

Slowly Kim removed his hands from Tia's breasts and tore his eyes away from her chest. When he met Tia's eyes, he saw that she was genuinely expecting an honest answer from him with an innocent smile on her face.

'Well?' she prompted anxiously.

'They feel fine,' he finally said. 'But I feel a little weirded out,' Kim continued. 'Why is it that I feel this way around you? I mean I know you are not hu… erm.. I mean an alien to my world but I now feel sexually attracted to you.'

'Oh? So they do work!' Tia exclaimed, still smiling innocently from ear to ear.

'What work?' Kim asked trying to shake himself out of the stupor. He must remain alert.

'The pheromones,' Tia replied. 'I've run through a study some time ago that said pheromones will make humans more agreeable and easier to work with. I have not really used them as I don't really have much physical contact with humans. Until now that is,' she said.

'You can generate pheromones and release them at will?' Kim asked incredulously.

'Yes,' Tia replied still smiling. 'I am unsure about the amount though,' she said.

Kim looked at her and was unable to tear his eyes away from her smile. He was feeling very attracted to her despite his logical mind telling him that she was not human.

'I guess you've released a bit too much,' Kim said trying to stay rational but he found himself reaching out for Tia. He could not control himself as he pulled Tia off her chair and onto himself. As a surprised Tia fell onto him he embraced her tightly and kissed her lips. Tia tried to push herself away but Kim's strong hands held her close and she sensed his lips on hers and shortly after that she sensed his tongue running over her lips.

Sparks ignited in Tia's mind. She had not expected that kind of reaction to the kiss. It felt electric and titillating and she wanted more. She parted her lips slightly and felt Kim's tongue invading her mouth. She felt like her body suddenly began to get hot like being engulfed in flames and she melted into his arms. As she savoured her first kiss with a human, she felt Kim pulling her closer to him. She felt one of his hands ran down from her waist towards her buttocks and gave it a squeeze. That sent a shockwave of pleasure through her. Unable to contain herself, Tia let out a moan. She found herself wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him close too. The pheromones were affecting her too.

An urgent beep suddenly sounded and broke their moment. As suddenly as they had started their make out session, it ended. The beep was coming from Kim's computer. A call was coming in.

Tia quickly got up awkwardly and stumbled a few steps backwards, her head felt a little woozy.

'I'm.. I'm sorry,' Kim said, feeling a little disoriented. 'Forgive me, I.. I didn't mean to..,' his voice trailed off as he looked around to find his computer and the source of the beeping.

'No, no.. I'm sorry,' Tia replied as she backed away from Kim as her heart pounded fast inside. She was deliberately putting more distance between them, afraid that if she was too close she might run into his arms again. 'I think the pheromones worked a little too well,' she continued sheepishly. 'That was quite unexpected and I am really sorry about it.'

'Well, let's not try that again shall we?' Kim said as he pushed the button to answer the incoming call.

'Kim here,' he said shaking his head to clear it further.

'Commander,' a voice came over the computer speakers. 'Your presence is needed at Mission Control. We have a situation. It's code red.'

'I'll be right there,' Kim said and pressed the button again to end the call. He got up, straightened his clothes and walked towards the door. 'I have some urgent matter to attend to. Please return to your room. I shall call for you when I have settled the matter,' he said opening the door and walked out.

Tia watched him leave and then realized that she did not know her way back to her room. She walked out to the hallway and saw Kim disappearing around a corner some distance in front of her. She decided to follow him.

Tia followed Kim as he made his way to Mission Control. She lingered behind the doorway into the room proper and decided to wait for Kim there. She stood behind a pillar that partly obscured the view of her from inside the room but she could see the large holographic globe displayed in the middle of the room.

'Sitrep!' Kim's voice was heard from where Tia was standing. She could not see him.

'Strike Team Gamma is requesting backup,' another voice was heard giving Kim the update. 'They were dispatched to investigate a UFO landing site in Southern China. Strike Team Gamma landed about an hour ago. They are now pinned down between the landed UFO and a group of Xrays coming out from a mine nearby.'

'Do we have any team ready to deploy?' Kim asked.

'No, sir!'

'On screen,' Kim said. 'I want to know the situation they are in at the moment.'

The holographic globe disappeared and was replaced by another projection. On it were six separate display which were coming from the shoulder mounted cameras on Strike Team Gamma's operative. On the bottom right of each screen was their name and call sign. Tia could make out their callsigns that said Sheriff, Skinner, Dozer, Twitch, Iris and Romeo.

On Dozer's cam, she could see a UFO. It was a medium scout ship. On some of the other cams, she could see something like a cave opening, presumably the entrance to the mine.

'Sheriff, this is Commander Kim! I need a sitrep now!'

'Commander!' Sheriff's voice was heard. 'We're pinned down between the UFO and the mine!'

'Bogey count!' Kim ordered.

'There's four at the mine entrance. Two of the big green ones and two others that look similar to the green but are clad in red armour! Don't see any weapons on the red ones but they seem to be charging at us. We are suppressed by the fire from the greenies!'

Tia's interest was piqued when she heard about the red armour clad aliens. She walked into the room and looked at the cam with the name Sheriff on it. The display was shaky but she could make out the figures.

'Muton berserkers!' she said as she walked closer to the holographic display. An operative saw her and approached her.

'Ma'am!' he said as he walked next to her. 'You're now authorised to be in here. I'll have to ask you to leave!'

Kim turned his attention to the commotion and saw Tia. Tia's eyes met his and she said, 'Those are Muton berserkers! They are heavily armoured and very dangerous!'

Kim motioned to the operative to leave Tia be. He then waved Tia over.

'You know these creatures?' Kim asked. Tia nodded as she came to a stop next to Kim.

'What about the other side?' Kim said into his microphone as he turned his attention back towards the display.

'There is some sort of a mecha just in front of the UFO!' Sheriff's voice came. 'It's raining heavy plasma fire at us!'

'Rockets incoming!' came another voice over the transmission. From Twitch's camera display, they could see numerous smoke trails rushing towards the camera. Twitch quickly ran behind some big rocks and took cover. Moments later several explosions were heard.

'Sheriff, report!' Kim requested urgently.

'Headcount! Call it out!' Sheriff's ordered his men.

'Skinner here! I'm ok!'

'Dozer! I'm alright!'

'Twitch! Fine!'

'Iris ok!'

'Romeo! I'm ok!'

'Twitch! Dozer! I need that mecha taken out ASAP or we're sitting ducks here!' Sheriff barked.

'Roger that, Sheriff!' Twitch said and moved out with Dozer.

'Sectopod!' Tia said.

'What?' Kim asked.

'That mecha. It's called a Sectopod. Its presence means that it's protecting something. I'll bet the leader is in the UFO,' Tia said. 'It will not wander far from whatever it's protecting.'

'Sheriff! Has the mecha approached or gotten closer?' Kim called over the radio link.

'No, sir! It's just been standing there raining death on us! Orders, sir?' Sheriff replied.

'Those red bastards are getting real close!' Iris's voice came. From the cam, Tia could see that the team was firing as best they could at the berserkers while under the suppression from the Mutons. A couple of shots connected by did not slow them down by much.

'Damn! Don't these things die?' Iris complained.

'Kim ask your men to lure them away,' Tia said as she watched the display from the cameras. When she heard nothing from Kim she turned towards him as saw him looking at him puzzled.

'Look, I'm no soldier but I have seen how these things behave. They will chase anything they see down until they die or you die. If they reach your team's position, it's not going to be pretty. Get a couple of them to lure them away!' Tia said.

Kim decided to take Tia's advice. 'Sheriff! Get a couple of your men to lure the berserkers, those red bastards, away from your position. The berserkers will give chase. Take them out as they pursue!'

'Roger that, commander!' Sheriff's voice replied. 'Skinner! Iris! Lure those bastards away! Fall back to the tree line and keep your heads down! Romeo! Put your sniper rifle to good use and take them out when the go after Skinner and Iris!'

'On our way!' Skinner said as he and Iris moved away from the team.

From Romeo's camera, they could see that the berserkers were indeed going after the two retreating operatives. 'Well, I'll be damned!' Romeo said. 'They are giving chase! I've got them in my sights!'

'Good! Now on the UFO side, can you see any other Xrays there?' Kim said. 'There should be another one, the leader, there. Take him out!'

'Dozer! Twitch! You heard the man!' Sheriff said, relaying the order. 'Go hunt!'

'Closing in, but that damn mecha sure has some serious firepower!' Dozer's voice came. The display showed that he was the closest one to the UFO as he moved from cover to cover, dodging the incoming plasma shots. 'I see it!' Dozer called out suddenly. 'Just behind the door. It's a fucking sectoid! And it's got a big damned head!'

Tia's attention switched towards Dozer's camera when she heard that. She could see the sectoid Dozer was referring to.

'I'm close enough to hit!' Dozer said. 'I'm taking him out!' Dozer continued as he stepped out from his cover to take aim.

'No!' Tia yelled. 'Don't let him see you!' The warning came just a little too late.

'Aarrgh!' Dozer yelled. 'It's .. it's in my mind! Aaargh!'

From Dozer's cam, they could see that the sectoid had spotted Dozer and is looking directly at him. Suddenly Dozer went quiet and he turned away from the Sectoid. He was now running towards the team and taking aim at Twitch who was closest to him.

'What the.. ?! Twitch called out as he threw himself to the ground with the plasma shots from Dozer narrowly missing him. 'Dozer! The fuck! The hell are you doing?!'

'He's being mind-controlled!' Tia yelled out. 'Kill the sectoid commander! That's the only way to free him!'

'Twitch! Dozer is to be considered an enemy now! Kill the sectoid to free him!' Kim ordered.

'Shit!' Twitch yelled. He quickly got his feet under him and rushed towards Dozer. Twitch closed the gap in a flash and lashed out hard with his plasma rifle's stock. The attack caught Dozer right in the face and he fell to the ground. Twitch then dashed behind another rock. The sectopod began shifting its fire towards him now and he was pinned down as shot after shot hit the rock he was behind.

He took a quick glance to locate the Sectoid's position. He ducked back behind the rock and pulled out a grenade. Pulling the pin, he hurled it with all his strength towards where the sectoid was. An explosion was heard a few seconds after along with an unearthly shriek. Then the battlefield suddenly grew silent. The plasma shots from the aliens suddenly stopped.

'They are disoriented from the loss of their leader!' Tia said.

'Mop them up, Sheriff! Make the most of the situation!' Kim ordered.

'Y'all heard the man! Let them have it!' Sheriff said.

A few minutes after that, the battle was concluded. Strike team Gamma managed to neutralize the enemies.

'How's the team?' Kim asked when the fighting was over.

'We're all still alive,' Sheriff reported.

'Dozer?' Kim queried.

'He's out cold. Broken nose but he'll make it,' Sheriff said.

'Good. Come on home!' Kim said as the holographic globe came back on. 'Capt. Park, you have Mission Control,' Kim said and then turned towards Tia. 'Thank you. We might have lost Gamma team had you not showed up,' he said.

Tia smiled. 'I'm glad I was able to help,' she replied.

'Shouldn't you be in your room?' Kim asked as he escorted her away from Mission Control.

'Well, I don't exactly remember where my room was,' Tia replied sheepishly.

'Oh? Let me show you to your room,' Kim said and started to lead Tia towards the living quarters.

A few minutes later they were standing in front of Tia's room.

'Here it is,' Kim said. 'Thank you again. Get some rest. I shall call for you tomorrow when the UFO has been recovered. We may find some clues as to what the Ethereals were up to at the mine.'

'Won't the others be troubled by my presence?' Tia asked. 'I am an alien to your planet and you guys are supposed to take care of the alien problem, right?'

Kim smiled at the remark. 'Well, you've shown that you could be a valuable ally to have back there with Gamma team. I'm sure I can persuade them to come around.' He then fished a keycard from his pocket and handed it to Tia.

'Here,' he said. 'This is the keycard to your room.'

Tia took the card and examined it for a while. 'You're not keeping me under lock and key? Aren't you afraid that I might escape?'

Kim chuckled a little at that remark. 'You can't even find your way back to your room. I don't think I need to worry about you escaping this facility.'

Tia's smile widened at that statement. 'I guess you're right. Well, then I'll see you tomorrow,' she said and leaned closer to Kim. Kim in turn leaned in and just when their lips were about to touch he stopped short.

'I thought I told you not to pull the pheromones trick again?' he said quietly and slowly pulled his head back.

'Sorry,' Tia replied as she lowered her head and looked at her feet trying to avoid his eyes. 'It takes a while for the effects to wear off. I swear I'm not releasing any more pheromones.'

'Well then, good night,' Kim said as he took a step back.

Tia raised her eyes to meet Kim's. She could not see any hint of anger in his eyes. If anything there was a curious look on his face.

'Good night,' she said and quickly turned to open the door and close it behind her. She kept her back on the door until she could not hear Kim's retreating footsteps anymore. Then she sighed and moved towards the bed and sat down slowly on the edge. She was a little taken aback by her own behaviour. Never had she thought that the pheromones will affect her that much.


	5. Chapter 5

Precious Cargo

**Chapter 5**

Tia walked into the conference room. Inside seated around a large table were five people. Tia recognized three of them. There was Kim at the head of the table with a large screen behind him. To his right was the soldier with the call sign Sheriff in the battle yesterday. On Sheriff's right was an Asian woman who gave her a cold look as she entered the room.

'Ah! Just in time,' Kim said as Tia entered. 'Come. Have a seat here. We will begin shortly,' Kim said motioning to the empty chair to his left. Tia walked towards the indicated seat and settled in. She turned towards her left and smiled at Captain Park and nodded to an older gentleman that was sat beside him. The older gentleman nodded back.

'Right. Now that everyone is here, let's get started,' Kim said and stood up. 'Let me introduce our intelligence officer, Ms … ,' Kim began turning towards Tia to introduce her but realized that he did not even know her name yet.

Seeing the predicament Kim was in, Tia quickly interjected as she stood up. 'Please, call me Tia.'

'Tia, you've met Captain Park. On his left is Dr. Tan, head of our engineering department. We have Dr. Lee Sung Kyo, head of our scientific research and you have seen Major Henson in action yesterday,' Kim went on with the introduction.

Apart from Sung Kyo who seemed to be deliberately ignoring her, the rest either nodded or raised their hands when introduced. Tia looked at Sung Kyo as she re-seated herself. Sung Kyo seemed to be in her mid-thirties and quite an attractive Asian woman. She was a little on the short side but quite petite and curvaceous.

'Yesterday at 1855 hours, Strike Team Gamma, led by Major Henson here was sent on a mission to investigate a landed UFO in southern China,' Kim said starting the meeting in earnest. 'In that mission we have encountered two new types of alien soldiers with abilities that we haven't seen before. Thanks to Tia here, Strike Team Gamma was able to neutralize the enemies and recover the UFO with no casualties.'

Kim picked up a remote from the table and pressed a button on it. The display behind him showed a picture of the dead sectoid.

'This is one of the new alien encountered yesterday,' Kim said as he pointed to the display. 'What are the results of the autopsy, Dr. Lee?'

'The autopsy has verified that this is a Sectoid. Apart from the enlarged head, it is similar to the other Sectoids that we have seen so far. The brain has more developed areas but at this moment we have yet to determine what uses it has for those areas,' Sung Kyo reported.

'In the field, it has proven to be a great threat,' Kim said. 'It has incapacitated one of our troops without using any visible weapons,' Kim pressed the remote again and the display changed to show a dead Muton berserker. 'This is the other alien we've encountered. Dr. Lee, what does the autopsy show?'

'This is a Muton, without a doubt. It has more developed muscles and genetically modified hormone glands that produces an abnormally high amount of adrenaline and other unidentified hormones,' Sung Kyo informed.

'This specimen bears only melee weapons in the form of reinforced metal claws that can cut through almost anything,' Kim added. 'Tia, can you tell us what you know about the two alien specimens shown?'

'Well, I don't really know all that much,' Tia began. 'The first one which you refer to as a Sectoid, is a commander. They are usually the leaders of small squads. They have this psionic ability to telepathically communicate with the others under their command. They can also sometimes psionically control their enemies but this does not always work.'

'And from what scientific research do you base your findings on?' Sung Kyo asked while giving Tia a hard glare.

'I don't have the facts with me now but I have seen them in action before,' Tia replied.

'So we are basing this on your hearsay?' Sung Kyo retorted.

'Dr. Lee,' Major Henson said. 'If it wasn't for Tia here, we might have lost at least two of our own in yesterday's battle. Her timely advice saved one of my troops.'

'That is correct, Dr. Lee,' Kim added. 'Tia has important information regarding the enemies we are facing. It'll be best if we keep an open mind.'

'And on whose authority is Tia here operating on? What are her credentials? Why weren't we notified of any new member joining us?' Sung Kyo said loudly, her anger visibly mounting.

'Tia here is a special envoy and she is here under my authority,' Kim said sternly.

'So where is she from? CIA? SETI? What is her area of specialty? Judging from her looks, she could just be a college girl you've picked up somewhere!' Sung Kyo snapped back.

'Let's just say that she's more than she appears to be,' Kim said with an air of finality. 'Now can we go back to the briefing? Tia, please continue,' Kim said ending that discussion.

Tia was taken aback by the outburst and was silent for a while. She looked at Sung Kyo and quickly broke eye contact when she saw Sung Kyo staring daggers at her. Unsure of what to do, Tia looked at Kim.

'Please continue with your findings,' Kim said gently. For some reason this seemed to incense Sung Kyo even more as Sung Kyo leaned back in her chair with arms crossed, glaring at Tia.

'Er.. well, the Sectoid commander is usually the tactician for his troops in a battle. Killing the commander will put the squad into a moment of disarray as any troops psionically connected to the commander will feel the commander's death. That causes them to be momentarily disoriented,' Tia said.

'We sure did experience that during the battle,' Major Henson said.

'And killing the commander will also break any mind control that the sectoid has exerted over any of our troops, correct?' Kim asked.

'Yes,' Tia replied.

'And what of the Muton specimen?' Kim asked.

'That's a Muton berserker,' Tia began. 'It is genetically modified to charge right into battle without any regards for its own safety. They are quite impervious to pain. Most injuries, apart from total destruction or dismemberment of their limbs, would be unlikely to slow them down. They usually will chase down a target until their target or themselves are destroyed.'

'Thank you for the information Tia,' Kim said. 'Dr. Tan, what have you got for us?'

'Well, nothing much at this time,' the head of engineering replied. 'Just a note that this UFO is by far the most intact one we have recovered so far. We have recovered a lot of functioning systems that are still under study.'

'Good. Anything else?' Kim said.

'Well, we have recovered a good amount of Terbium from the alien craft,' Dr. Tan continued.

'Terbium?' Kim asked.

'It's a rare- earth metal,' Dr. Tan explained. 'No doubt recovered from the mine near where the UFO was discovered.'

'So what does the alien want with Terbium?' Kim asked.

'I have no idea,' Dr. Tan said.

Kim looked at Tia hoping for an answer.

'I don't know either,' Tia said shrugging her shoulders.

'If they want it then they must have some use for it,' Kim said. 'I want to know what uses it has and what possible use that the aliens have for it.'

Dr. Tan just nodded and scribbled something onto his notepad.

'Captain Park,' Kim said. 'I want to you run a check on all the sites where we have encountered the aliens. See if you can find any correlation with the sites and this Terbium rare-earth metal.'

'Yes, sir,' Captain Park replied.

'So far, does anyone know where these aliens are operating from?' Kim asked. 'They must have some kind of a base here on earth. We know that these UFOs are not coming from outer space.'

There was silence all around as no one had an answer to Kim's question.

'You can easily find out,' Tia said breaking the awkward silence.

All eyes fell on Tia when she said that. Tia was a bit surprised by that.

'How?' Kim asked.

'Well, you have the UFO from yesterday, right?' Tia asked and Kim nodded. 'The navigational computer on board. Is it still functioning?'

Kim looked at Dr. Tan and Dr. Lee in askance.

'We do have that,' Dr. Tan informed. 'The engineering team has removed the navigation system and now the research team has it.'

Kim looked at Dr. Lee for further information.

'Well, we do have it but it is not a priority item.. research has yet to begin on it,' Sung Kyo said with a low voice.

Kim gave Sung Kyo an annoyed look and then turned his attention back to Tia. 'We have the navigational computer but how do we find what we are looking for?'

'Don't you realize that in each UFO you encounter, they don't really have a designated pilot or navigator? They all seem to be soldiers right?' Tia asked and looked around the room. Nods came from Major Henson, Capt. Park and Dr. Tan.

'That is because the UFOs are really on auto-pilot,' Tia explained. 'Their destination has already been preset into the navigation computer. If you can break into the system and decrypt the code, you can see where they are coming from.'

Tia watched as glances were exchanged by the people present in the room. It was as if a sudden realization had hit them. Tia was surprised that they haven't thought about that but then again, the humans haven't really encountered any alien spacecraft before.

'Dr. Lee, Dr. Tan,' Kim ordered. 'I want the navigational computer to be the top priority research item now and get me that information. That is all. Meeting adjourned,' Kim said and got up to leave the room.

As soon as Kim had left, Sung Kyo hastily stood up and gathered her things. Before she left she shot Tia and icy glare. Tia winced a little at that glare as Sung Kyo stormed out of the room. The others began to file out of the room. Tia got up and prepared to leave when Major Henson came up to her.

'I would like to thank you again for your help yesterday,' Major Henson said extending his hand.

Tia smiled and took his hand and shook it warmly. 'It was nothing. I was glad to be able to help.'

They walked together towards the door and were the last to leave the room.

'Why is it that I get the feeling that Dr. Lee does not like me?' Tia wondered aloud.

'Dr. Lee?' Major Henson said. 'Oh! Don't mind her. She's one heck of a scientist and one of the brightest. Just that she get jealous quite easily and was Commander Kim's girlfriend.'

'Was?' Tia asked puzzled by the past tense used.

'Yup,' Major Henson said. 'They broke up before this outfit was formed and by chance were put to work together here. She has been trying to get back together but the commander does not seem too keen on that idea.'

Tia stopped in her tracks when she heard that. They had just stepped out of the room. Major Henson turned and extended his hands again.

'Well, I've got other business to attend to,' the Major said. 'Thank you again and I'll see you around.'

Tia shook his hand again and with that the Major walked away. Tia pondered on what he had said about Sung Kyo. She wasn't sure that being on the doctor's bad side was such a good thing.

**A few hours later:**

Kim walked into the Situation Room and sat down in front of the screen. He sighed. Another conference with the council. Not what he was looking forward to do. A flashing red icon was the only thing on the screen. He reached out and touched the screen.

'Good afternoon commander Kim,' the familiar bald silhouette greeted.

'Good afternoon. What service can I be of?' Kim replied.

'Your presence is requested at the HQ, Commander Kim.'

'To what do I owe that honour?'

'It's regarding the spacecraft that you have recovered recently. Initial tests have shown that this spacecraft is different from the others we have encountered. We have reason to believe that it belongs to another race of aliens,' the silhouette said.

'All details regarding that mission is in my report, I do not see the need for another meeting,' Kim replied trying to avoid going to the HQ.

'We have read that report but certain details may have slipped your memory. It would be best if we could discuss this matter in detail with the team in HQ,' the bald headed man said, emphasizing on the word detail. Kim realized that they were suspicious about the mission.

'It was also stated that the location of the craft was discovered when a transmission to outer space was made from it. Surely someone or something must have initiated that contact. We are concerned about the fact that your strike team did not encounter any beings there.'

'I understand,' Kim replied. He knew that he needed something to distract the council and HQ away from Tia's craft. They must not pursue this matter any further or he may not be able to keep Tia hidden for long. 'I also have something to report to the HQ. We have recently found out that the aliens have been taking an interest in Terbium, a rare-earth metal. My team has recently intercepted an attempt by the aliens to acquire the metal. I have just finalized the report and was about to send it to HQ. Seeing that I would be at HQ, I would be personally bringing it tomorrow.'

'Very well. It's good to know that some new leads have been discovered. I shall inform HQ to expect your arrival. Farewell for now, commander,' the bald headed man said and terminated the call.

Kim sighed. He needed some solid data to throw HQ off the Skoorian trail. He left the room and walked hurriedly to the scientific research department. As he entered the lab, he looked around to find Sung Kyo. He saw her with a team of her researchers in one corner of the lab and walked over. Nearing the group, he could see that they were busy working on the alien navigation computer.

'How's the progress coming along?' Kim asked as he reached the group. Sung Kyo turned around to face him. She flashed him a weak smile.

'Not really good, I'm afraid,' she confessed.

'What have we got?' Kim asked again.

'We have determined that the craft has been frequenting one particular point in its flight path but we are unable to crack the code to decrypt the language. All we can see is the pattern but it doesn't tell us the location,' Sung Kyo reported. 'We don't even know where to begin to decrypt as the alien language is totally, well, to put it bluntly, alien to us,' she continued.

'So this isn't much of a lead, then?' Kim asked.

Sung Kyo shook her head slightly. 'No, there's not much to go on with,' she said with some degree of resignation.

'Thanks for the update and keep up the good work,' Kim said and gave Sung Kyo a little pat on her back before he turned to leave the lab. Sung Kyo smiled at him and watched him leave.

Ten minutes later, Kim was at Mission Control. He made a bee line towards the command console to find Capt. Park.

'Do you have any updates on the cross check that I've requested?' Kim asked.

'Yes, sir,' Capt. Park replied and handed him a folder.

Kim took the folder, opened it and glanced inside. His hopes were dashed as his eyes went down the list on the report.

'It seems that the aliens have been frequenting quite a lot of mines but nothing to really tie it down to Terbium,' Capt. Park said, echoing what was written in the report.

The list consisted of gold mines, copper mines, silver mines and even coal mines. Terbium mines were frequented only twice in the list.

'Have you crossed checked all landings, even those from the central HQ database?' Kim asked hoping that they might find something more solid to work with.

'Yes, sir,' Capt. Park replied. 'I've run it through every UFO landing recorded by XCOM worldwide. The only thing is that we have not found any other metals in any significant quantity, apart from Terbium, in the alien's possession to indicate interest.'

'That is a very thin argument,' Kim voiced his concern.

'Yes it is, sir,' Capt. Park agreed.

'Thank you captain,' Kim said, closing the folder and walking slowly out of the room. _'Perhaps Tia might have some ideas for me,'_ he thought.

Another ten minutes later Kim found himself in front of Tia's door in the living quarters. Tia's room was in the civilian's quarters rather than the military quarters. Kim looked around to see if anyone was there but not another soul was present in the corridor. He should not make it a habit to visit Tia like this as it would raise unwanted questions.

When he was satisfied that no one was around, Kim pressed the bell on the door. A second later the door flew open and Tia jumped out and excitedly embraced him, jumping up and down and laughing.

'I found it! I found it! After all these years, I finally found it!' Tia said excitedly while still bouncing up and down in Kim's embrace.

'Whoa! What? Found what? Can you stop jumping?' Kim asked trying to keep his balance and totally surprised. He was even more surprised when Tia gave him a big kiss on his cheek as a reply. Wide eyed, Kim quickly pushed Tia back into the room and closed the door behind him. It would not do to have people see them like that. He had to literally peel Tia away from him.

'Are you messing with the pheromones again?' Kim asked looking very concerned and trying to keep his distance. Tia raced towards him again, still really excited for some reason. He had to keep his hands outstretched to keep Tia from embracing him again.

'What? No!' Tia replied still smiling from ear to ear. 'My formula! I finally found one that works! My research is complete!' she practically shouted.

'You mean your tree thingy?' Kim asked puzzled.

'Yes! Yes! I did it! The basic simulation passed with flying colours! Of course I still need to run the complete simulation but this is by far the most promising one I've found!' Tia exclaimed. 'And do you know who I should thank for it? The ethereals! Imagine that!' Tia continued still very high.

'What? The ethereals?' What are you talking…' Kim had no chance to finish his sentence.

'Terbium! The answer was Terbium!' Tia yelled. 'I haven't heard about it before so when it came up this morning, I decided to run a test and it worked!'

'Right! Can you calm down? I have some urgent matters to discuss with you,' Kim said.

'Oh? Of course! Sorry! Just that I was so excited that it worked,' Tia said finally calming down enough to pay attention.

'Tia, do you have any way to decrypt the ethereal's language? We can't get any headway with it and since your people have been at war with them I was thinking that you may have some algorithms to decrypt their language,' Kim asked.

'Decrypt their language? Yes we do!' Tia replied excitedly.

'You do?' Kim asked surprised as this was a real long shot. He did not think that he would score a hit.

'Well, not me obviously but Commander H'thet may have something. I can ask him about it and… oh crud!' Tia stopped suddenly and the excitement that was in her previously could literally be seen bottoming out on her face.

'What? What is it?' Kim asked.

'My computer! It's on board my ship. I can't run my final simulation without it! I had totally forgotten that it had been taken away! Damn!' Tia said, disappointment beginning to replace the excitement.

'Oh, ok… but what about the algorithms? Any way you can get those?' Kim gently queried.

'No! Without my computer, I can't contact Commander H'thet!' Tia said distressed.

Kim sighed. 'Right. So that's another dead end. Just when I thought I had something when I go to HQ tomorrow. It was a shot in the dark anyway,' Kim said just voicing his thoughts than informing.

'You're going to HQ tomorrow?' Tia asked, getting excited again.

'Well, yes? What's it to you?' Kim asked perplexed.

'Then we can get my computer!' she said eyes wide with hope.

'No. Even if I'm at HQ I wouldn't know where they are keeping your computer,' Kim explained.

'I would know!' Tia said holding up her left hand and pointing to her watch with her index finger of her right hand. 'See this? This is a detachable component from my main computer with limited processing power. It can home it to my on board computer like a beacon. When I get it I can run my simulation and contact commander H'thet! It's win-win!'

'No. They would probably have it under lock and key,' Kim reasoned. 'Besides, I wouldn't know how to operate your watch.'

'Bring me with you!' Tia said.

'What? No!'

'Yes! Bring me! I can locate it!'

'I can't just bring an alien that I have been keeping a secret into HQ!' Kim protested.

'They wouldn't know I'm an alien,' Tia said. 'C'mon!'

'Supposing I do bring you and supposing you can find your computer, how do you propose to bring it back?' Kim argued.

'It's not very big. Not much bigger than the laptop computers you have here,' Tia said.

'And the guards that are going to be guarding the storage? How are you dealing with them?' Kim asked, getting annoyed.

Tia winked. 'Pheromones,' she said quietly.

'What? That's ridic… that.. ,' Kim's voice trailed away when he remembered the effect Tia's pheromones had on him previously. _'It just might work!' _he thought.

'This crazy idea of yours just might work!' Kim said.

'Of course it would work! I am very good at blending in and remaining undetected! I can do this!' Tia said excitedly.

'Really? You are still technically a prisoner here, you know?' Kim admonished.

'That's no fair. You traced my transmission to Commander H'thet! If you didn't you wouldn't even know I existed!' Tia argued.

Kim knew she was right.

'Besides, I am not totally helpless. I have my own set of skills when it comes to stealth,' Tia boasted.

Kim's mind raced. The plan would be risky but then again if he did not throw something to HQ to get them off Tia's trail, his game would be up soon too.

'Alright! I'll bring you as my aide. Once there, you would be on your own in tracing your computer and retrieving it!' Kim said.

'Yes! And thank you!' Tia shouted exuberantly, jumping at Kim and embracing him again. Before Kim could protest she planted another big kiss on his cheek.


End file.
